This is book one of the Lord of the Underworld series by Showalter, another series to add to my want to read pile.Synopsis
All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member--a man trapped in a hell of his own.

Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments...and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction--and a soul-shattering test of love....

"My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then."

When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae...

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho...while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands...

Amazon Freebie read!Synopsis
Kane has friends. He is content. He carves his celebrated birds and farms on his little slice of heaven in Puffin Cove, Newfoundland, and heals from the tragedy that sent him fleeing from his homeland. But one look at a beautiful redhead in a quiet pub, and the life he has so carefully rebuilt tilts on its axis.

Laura knows there must be something better out there. This is the only life she is going to get, and dammit, she isn't going to waste one more day. When she runs away from home she certainly doesn't expect to fall instantly in love with a small east coast town, and a crusty, sexy Irishman.

As Kane and Laura explore the beauty of the land and a love that they never knew could exist, their fears for the future and the scars of the past threaten to tear apart a perfect forever.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jet was once the Mossad's most lethal operative before faking her own death and burying that identity forever.

But the past doesn't give up on its secrets easily.

When her new life on a tranquil island is shattered by a brutal attack, Jet must return to a clandestine existence of savagery and deception to save herself and those she loves. A gritty, unflinching roller-coaster of high-stakes twists and shocking turns, JET features a new breed of protagonist that breaks the mold.

Fans of Lizbeth Salander, SALT, and the Bourne trilogy will find themselves carried along at Lamborghini speed to a conclusion as jarring and surprising as the story's heroine is unconventional.

Amazon(free at time of posting)Synopsis
A young, ambitious lawyer is eager to prove he is better than the father who abandoned him and worthy of the devoted mother who raised him beyond the siren call of the mobster dominated family he grew up in. Working as a Bronx Legal Aid Attorney he learns how to twist the system, how to become an unbeatable defense lawyer, and he his peacock proud of his perfect record-not a single conviction. But it's 1982. The Spiderman rapist is on the loose and New York City is a city in fear. When an outraged rape victim commits suicide right before his eyes, searching for absolution, he grabs the headline case of a teacher’s aide accused of molesting three students. Armed with a firm belief in his client’s innocence, he knocks the pegs out from under the prosecution’s case. When one of the children turns up dead, he discovers that his client may be strangely connected to the Spiderman. Digging deeper, horrifying revelations about his family's past collide with the true identity of the sadistic sociopath behind the Spiderman's rampage. In the process, this good lawyer comes face-to-face with his greatest conflict and deepest fear: to win, really win-save the city and even the woman he loves-must he sacrifice every principle he believes in and embrace his family's mafia past to become judge, jury, and executioner?

Today we mark the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington and the I Have A Dream Speech by Dr. King. I wasn't even born when this historical even took place, yet I know and appreciate the importance of this event. Today our president will make a speech on the same spot where Dr. King spoke. There have been so many discussions this morning on the news and talk radio about the state of the Civil Rights movement today and whether or not we as a nation have lived up to the expectations and hopes of the movement. I am hearing a lot of glass half full attitudes and an expression of disappointment with the condition of African Americans, in particular the young men, in our country. I, for one, don't see it that way, the glass for me is decidedly half full. I am not in any way negating the dire condition of so many of our young men and women, but there has been so much progress and ground gained in such a very short time. We have to acknowledge all of the progress made too.We all have the ability to live, work, worship, and love the way we choose in this country if we only have the courage and conviction to do so. There are still hurdles to leap, but we are no longer at the starting block. My grandfather on my dad's side was a man that I truly loved and admired and I remember having a conversation with him once when I was in high school that I don't think that I really took to heart at the time, but as I matured, and especially now as an adult, I am so thankful for having with him. We were talking about what my plans for myself were when I finished high school, and which college I was going to choose. I was one of the fortunate ones where there was never any question whether or not I would go to college, it was a given. Both he and my grandmother were educators; Grandma was a teacher and Granddaddy was a principal of a high school. I''m sure that I said something trite about not knowing why my family was putting so much pressure on me to "make myself an asset not a burden" when he told me something that I apparently actually absorbed. He said that the blood had been shed, the price paid, and the martyrs laid in their graves and that my generation of black folks is the first generation in America who have no excuse if they are not successful and satisfied in their own happiness. Well, no pressure Granddaddy! However, as usual, he was annoyingly right. If the previous generation could brave dogs, water hoses, and the Klan my generation could surely withstand ugly looks and the cold shoulder. I am blessed to say that despite growing up in Arkansas I have not really experienced anything soul shattering when it comes to race. I also have the additional blessing of being the wife of a military officer and we have raised our children in the military community where racism and discrimination is not the norm. Due to our lifestyle I have gathered a chosen family that is racially diverse. The friends that I have made have been there for me through my husbands deployments, TDY's, a crisis with a sibling, the death of both of my grandfathers, and the death of my father. I couldn't be closer to this chosen family of mine if we were related by blood and race. They offer me what any good family should-love, support, understanding, and gently reign me back in when I go off of on a tangent of some sort. Until the Lord Jesus himself returns there will always be people full of hate and the need to subjugate and oppress others in order to make themselves feel important. There's no way to get around that so you have to accept that as fact and let it go. So today, as I watch President Obama give his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial I will think of my grandfather and how proud he would undoubtedly be if he could see it and I will remember the sacrifices and triumphs of those Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian heroes of the Civil Rights movement I choose to see the glass half full.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Alexa O'Brien has never been like other people. A deadly assassin, she is a werewolf with extraordinary power. Power that fiercely draws her to Arys, a mysterious vampire who awakens her dark side. What they create together is dangerous and binding, forcing her to question the source of her abilities. She risks losing her remaining humanity as well as the one man she dares to love.

When Alexa's womanizing former lover and pack Alpha is framed for murder, he turns to her for help. She would like nothing more than to watch karma at work but as the body count rises, long buried secrets are exposed. Alexa is forced to face the painful truth that not everyone is who she thinks they are. Not even her.

Elise had no idea when she came home that day that she'd end up mated to a complete stranger. A new Alpha and the need for an alliance between packs have made her a pawn Excerpt: She lay beside him, staring blankly at the ceiling. The deed was done. They were mated. It didn't matter that she had no love for him nor he for her. Political alliances were more important than feelings...

Blood Slave.Captured, taken from her beloved family and woods, Aria’s biggest fear is not the imminent death facing her, but that she will be chosen as a blood slave for a member of the ruling vampire race. No matter what becomes of her though, Aria knows that she must keep her identity hidden from the monsters imprisoning her. She has already been branded a member of the rebellion, but the vampires do not know the true depth of her involvement with it, and they must never know.Though hoping for death, Aria’s world is turned upside down when a vampire named Braith steps forward to claim her. He delays her execution, but Aria knows it’s only a matter of time before he drains her, and destroys her. Especially once she learns his true identity as a prince within the royal family; the same royal family that started the war that ultimately brought down humankind, reducing them to nothing more than servants and slaves.Aria is determined to hate the prince, determined not to give into him in anyway, but his strange kindness, and surprising gentleness astonish her. Torn between her loyalties to the rebellion, and her growing love for her greatest enemy, Aria struggles to decide between everything she has ever known, and a love she never dreamed of finding.

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